Phil Akashi has been invited in 2014 to collaborate in the NO AD project in New York City.

NO AD is a mobile app that replaces the top 100 NYC subway ads with digital art using augmented reality technology. In doing so, the app creates a new exhibition space on top of existing subway advertising infrastructure. This project was developed by a team of designers and street art enthusiasts including the collectiveRe+Public(Public Ad Campaign andHeavy Projects), and street blogger and photographer Lowy Romano.

For the launch, 50+ street artists have been recruited for this project. The names included are some of the most well known and well respected artists in NYC and worldwide such as Dal East, Faith 47, Icy & Sot, Jilly Ballistic, LNY, Logan Hicks, Micheal De Feo, Ron English, Rone, Saber, Sheryo, Stikman, Tara Mcpherson, TRAP, Phil Akashi.

Each month NO AD will auto update, replacing the new advertisements with original content. The NO AD team has already collaborated with prominent cultural institutions such as theInternational Center of Photography, Vandalog, Subway Art Blog, Surface Project bookbySøren Solkær. Future updates to the app will highlight additional collaborations with institutions and curators across disciplines. NO AD’s mission is to create an alternative exhibition space for New Yorkers, bringing them closer to the rich cultural content the city has to offer.

“I am really happy to participate in this innovative and large scale project and to showcase some artworks in the NYC subway. It is pretty cool to use emerging technologies to alter the current expectations of urban media and to re-imagine public space. It makes the audience to see the world differently and force them to think outside the box. And I like that.” Phil Akashi

More information about NO AD is available in its initial media release and on itswebsite. The app is available for Apple and Android devices. Download NO AD inthe App Store, and onGoogle Play. Then just click the app and point your phone/tablet at any one of the most popular advertisements in the NYC subway system, once the app recognizes the ad, a piece of curated art or video will show on the screen. You can do ademo here.